Audit Committee Self-Assessment

What is the Audit Committee Self-Assessment?

This is a tool designed to assist the audit committee in evaluating how well the audit committee is executing their responsibilities. Please refer to BDO’s Audit Committee Requirements Practice Aid to track what the audit committee should be doing throughout the year. The performance indicators included in this practice aid have been selected from BDO thought leadership available within BDO’s Center for Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting, review of other widely available self-assessment tools, and our knowledge and experience in working with both public company audit committees and those charged with governance at private companies.

Why should audit committees perform a self-assessment?

Beyond listing exchange requirements, this tool is designed to assist in strategic improvements and identification of ongoing goals for the audit committee as a basis for good governance practice. As there is always room for improving quality and performance, we recommend that this document be used in conjunction with your organization’s Audit Committee Charter (or similar document) to ensure that governance responsibilities are adequately aligned with the charter and are being fulfilled appropriately. You may choose to customize this self-assessment further to reflect specific attributes of your organization and develop specific action steps and estimated completion dates to enhance your audit committee’s performance.

Who should use this practice aid?

This Audit Committee Self-Assessment may be used by those charged with governance (in particular, audit committees) in performing an annual self-assessment. The audit committee chair would generally compile the results, which may be obtained from individual committee members on a confidential basis, but should also contemplate feedback from other key stakeholders such as the board, internal and external audit, and management.

When should the audit committee use this practice aid?

The audit committee should perform a self-assessment at least annually with areas identified for improvement to be assessed throughout the year.

How should the audit committee use this practice aid?

This self-assessment tool is to be used as a guide and in correlation with the responsibilities laid out within the audit committee charter approved by the full board. In certain circumstances, some of the below line items may not be applicable or there may be additional considerations that the audit committee may want to include in their assessment. At the discretion of the audit committee chair and members, an additional free-form commentary box has been included to allow for specific recommendations or observations to be captured for further consideration.

Areas of assessment

1. Composition

2. Committee Management

3. Culture

4. Onboarding and Continuing Education

5. Audit Committee Chair

6. Communications

7. Consideration of Risk

8. Oversight of Financial Reporting

9. Oversight of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

10. Oversight of Internal Audit

11. Oversight of External Auditors

12. Overall Assessment